Bikie gangs: outlawing the 'outlaws'

This kind of talk fuels debates but also stirs up the stereotyping, so much so there is a real fear anti gang laws could push Australia into an era of McCarthyism; a “reds under the beds” mindset where anyone who rides a motorbike is perceived to be a criminal.

And this is where the laws get difficult, because they do not specifically target just bikies. Lawyers are very worried the laws could equally be applied to other groups.

The NSW Police application to have the Hells Angels declared a criminal organisation - if successful - would allow the police to then apply to have individual members stopped from associating with each other.

Even the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, was reportedly alarmed by the move, and was quoted in the media as warning against an erosion of people's rights.

Especially worrying is the provision for a judge to hear certain information, such as police intelligence, in closed court and not make that information available to the targeted organisation or its lawyers.

This is an unbelievable denial of basic rights and evokes Franz Kafka’s surreal The Trial where a man is tried for a crime but never told what he is charged with.

As a criminal defence lawyer it is crucial we take a slow and cautious approach to laws of this nature, especially anti-association measures because it could cripple the livelihoods of innocent people. We need to take the heat and emotion out of the issue and consider the widest impact on the whole community.

This argument is not about defending gangs, it’s about how rushed laws could unexpectedly impact on innocent people, especially any restrictions on people from associating with a gang declared a criminal organisation.

Any law which even suggests a guilt by association measure is a radical and very worrying erosion of the public’s rights because it effectively treats them on the same level as terrorists.

Having a gang declared a criminal organisation plays well to the voters but has anyone thought through the possible ramifications?

The concept plays to the politics of fear and a “get tough on crime” stance, but what about possible loopholes which could penalise innocent members of the community?

Could a person whose business is servicing or selling motorbikes be punished for selling a bike to or repairing a gang member’s motorbike?